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Floating LNG

Prelude is Shell’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) facility,an offshore development that will produce natural gas from a remote field in Western Australia.

Global energy demand is expected to grow by 30% between 2015 and 2040, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) New Policies Scenario. Prelude FLNG will help to meet this growing demand, by providing more natural gas.

Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) technology is complementary to conventional onshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) as it helps to accelerate the development of gas resources to meet the world’s growing demand.

How does FLNG technology work?

FLNG technology makes the production, liquefaction and storage of natural gas possible at sea. LNG is transferred directly from the floating facility to specific carriers, for convenient shipping to countries around the world.

Natural gas is produced from underwater fields then processed and chilled to -162° Celsius (-260° Fahrenheit). This shrinks its volume by 600 times to create LNG. The advanced design of an FLNG facility packs a typical land-based LNG plant into a fraction of its normal size.

Prelude FLNG will be the world’s largest offshore floating facility

Into reality: Prelude FLNG

Shell is taking great strides towards delivering the Prelude FLNG facility. Prelude is now on location, 475km (295 miles) north north-east of Broome, Western Australia.

Once operational, Prelude FLNG will produce 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of LPG.

Safety in design

Shell has made safety the central focus of FLNG technology since we began developing it in the 1990s. We have incorporated proven LNG technologies and developed new ones to ensure the Prelude facility can operate safely at sea. Prelude is designed to remain in place in severe weather conditions and even withstand a 1-in-10,000-year storm.

Built to last

The Prelude facility is designed to remain at sea for around 25 years. It will be moored in the Browse Basin off the north-west coast of Australia, in about 250 metres of water. FLNG facilities can be re-deployed to develop new gas fields.

Reduced impact

FLNG technology offers countries a more environmentally-sensitive way to develop natural gas resources. Prelude will have a much smaller environmental footprint than land-based LNG plants, which require major infrastructure works. It also eliminates the need for long pipelines to land.

Benefits to Australia

Over the lifespan of Prelude, the project is expected to add billions of dollars of revenue to Australia’s economy, create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, spend billions of dollars on Australian goods and services and improve the country’s balance of trade through export of LNG, LPG and condensate.